Teacher Feedback Across Thesis Writing Stages: The What and How

Abstract

This paper explores the significance and impact of teacher feedback in the thesis writing process for master’s students at Tribhuvan University in Nepal, particularly in the fields of English Language Teaching (ELT) and Applied Linguistics. The main objective of the study is to understand how feedback supports students across key stages of thesis writing, including topic selection, research design, drafting, and revisions. The research adopts a qualitative descriptive design, using in-depth interviews with recent graduates to gather detailed insights into their experiences with teacher feedback. The method focuses on exploring how feedback influences the development of research questions, the refinement of methodology, and the improvement of writing clarity and coherence. The study revealed that teacher feedback plays a significant developmental role, not only helping students refine their research and writing but also fostering critical thinking, self-assessment, and academic independence. Moreover, the paper claims that effective feedback significantly enhances the overall quality of theses, ensuring that they are well-structured, methodologically sound, and academically rigorous which prepares students for future academic and professional success.